Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Making Resolutions - The Relaxed Style



I read an article the other day from the Editor-in-Chief, Jill Herzig of the magazine, Redbook. She titled it, "Relax your Resolutions".

What a great idea.

Why didn't I think of it?

All of us feel stressed and pressured to come up with our New Year's resolutions. We pick our brains for something we can resolve to do in the upcoming year.

Of course, there are always the old stand by's to fall back on.






  • Lose Weight
  • Stop drinking
  • Get in shape
  • Less stress



Wait a minute. How can you resolve to have less stress in your life? For some of you, it could be downright difficult to make a major life change to include relaxation into your life. While others may find it a bit easier.

So, how do we start off the new year? According to Ms. Herzig, "it begins with the admission that we're all far from perfect."

Make resolutions that are fun to achieve. Make a resolution to have more fun in your life. Don't take life so seriously. You don't want to be the person left holding the sign "It's Too Late".

Live each day for today. Forget about yesterday. Don't worry about tomorrow.

Last year is done, over. Forget about it. (Of course, you may have heard that last sentence with a New York accent with every word run together, but for my midwest accent, every word is enunciated properly. Not to disparage other accents, only to show you how it sounds in my head.)

So, relax your resolutions. You're not perfect. Don't strive to be. If you do, then all your resolutions will have been used up and you'll only get one left: stay perfect. What fun is that?

Rene Coty said, "It's taken me all my life to understand that it is not necessary to understand everything."

That's how I strive to live my life. It's not important that I understand every exact thing that happens. Just be happy that I'm along for the ride when it does.


Like I said before, last year is over. Be done with it. Don't look back with regrets. Look forward with hope and fun.

Relax your resolutions. You're not perfect. Don't strive to be. It's better to be imperfect and fun.

And, in the final words of Ms. Herzig: "It'll be a great year if we achieve even half of our goals. Let's resolve, first and foremost, to have fun trying."

I so agree.

-- Happy New Year
Vicki

10 comments:

Sadie Ussery said...

What a great post! Thanks for sharing...always good to have a reminder that I am far from perfect. Happy new year! Found you on SITS today...
fortheirtenderhearts.com

Vicki M. Taylor said...

Sadie, thanks for visiting. Found your blog. LOVE IT!

Leslie said...

Such a great reminder! I was one of the many people resolving to reduce stress…but mostly the self-induced stress. I suppose that what I was really saying was I wanted to focus more on having fun! Have a great new year!

Vicki M. Taylor said...

Thank you, Leslie, for posting. Having fun is what it's all about. Who wants to sit at their deathbed and say why didn't I have more fun? Not me!

Julie M. said...

Thanks for linking this up to my link-up on Fibro, Fit and Fab! :)

I think taking a relaxed approach is probably the best way, too. :) We all have our goals, and I think (at the end of the day) what really matters finds a way to get done despite all our planning and efforts. If it doesn't, there's tomorrow...and if it never does, you have to trust that everything will work out to our best despite us. :)

Happy New Year!

Vicki M. Taylor said...

Julie, well said "trust that everything will work out to our best despite us." That's the ticket. Thanks for stopping by.

Robin said...

I used to make resolutions. Then I'd mess them up a bit later and be angry with myself. I couldn't let go of the perfectionism. So I decided not to make them anymore. I'd work on stuff but not set official goals. I never got disappointed but I didn't feel like I was progressing like I should.

Now I choose one word for the year. One principle or idea. One thing I want to focus on for the whole year. I love it! It works so much better for me. It's about who I want to become as a person. It's very internal.

I just wish everyone could find what works for them and run with it and not worry so much about what society tells them they should do. Follow your heart.

Stopping by from SITS. Have a great weekend.

Vicki M. Taylor said...

misssrobin, choosing one thing to focus on is a good idea. And, I agree.. go with your gut, rather than society know it alls.

The Dose of Reality said...

YES!!! New Year's resolutions for me are always doomed to fail and that always feels awful. I love the idea of relaxing them!!!

Vicki M. Taylor said...

Thanks for the post, Dose of Reality, I hope that everyone relaxes their resolutions from now on.